


Stolen Moments

by dasakuryo



Series: fluttering thrill at the end of our fingertips (blissbirth) [7]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Sexual Content, Mild Smut, Sharing Body Heat, Sharing Clothes, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-03 22:37:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12156210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dasakuryo/pseuds/dasakuryo
Summary: The mission to Ithor was supposed to be easy, safe. So naturally, Cassian panics when he wakes up and he can't find Jyn anywhere. Little do Cassian and Jyn know how unusual this mission will be for both of them— giving them a glimpse into that future that may become true.





	Stolen Moments

He would not be able to know with absolute certainty what exactly woke him up, whether it had been the brightness or the warmness of the pale sun rays. He shifted in bed, his sleep-fogged mind barely making out the whisper of the sheets. It was almost paradoxical that the faint light that managed to peer through the thick foliage of Ithor could be so blinding. Despite the weight of drowsiness still etching clumsiness to his every move, his body grew tense in the blink of an eye. His fingers sliding over the sheets only met cold worn cotton. Something was missing. Someone was missing beside him.

"Jyn?" he called, his voice echoed in the room.

There was no answer other than silence. He repeated the question, but the sound of her name seemed to echo back in the quietness, freezing the blood in his veins. His throat knotted and his heart started thrumming behind his ribs.

Ithor was safe. _Technically_. Neither the planet nor its inhabitants had any link with rebels, in theory. Ithor was of no interest for the Empire. _Technically_.

The safehouse was safe—

The permacrete was icy cold beneath his bare feet. He slid out of bed, treading as carefully and silently as he could. He scanned the room, trying without success to ignore the emptiness that was weighing down in his stomach. After stealing a quick glance to the door, he maneuvered to the piles of messy discarded clothes littered all over the floor. He bit his tongue to stop himself from cursing out loud. He hoped the piercing pain on his heel had nothing to do with the buckle prong digging into his skin. He knelt down. The clasp of the holster gave in without a noise.

The durasteel curves of the A180 felt unfamiliar in his hand, after so long. The touch of his fingers closing around the gun was even uncomfortable—

He swallowed before leaning over the doorframe, peering into the corridor. The name burnt his throat. He'd to suck in a breath to keep quiet. He treaded on cautiously, nearly pressed against the wall. Something shattered inside his chest; room after room he peered into, he couldn't find her.

The corridor was deserted. Attempting to listen for anything seemed useless, he doubted he would be able to hear anything over his heartbeat roaring? in his ears. He clutched the blaster tighter before covering the scarce meters to the kitchen.

It couldn't be. Jyn couldn't have—

He froze at the scene he stepped into. His jaw dropped... as a sheer sense of relief washed over him. His fingers relaxed, trembling yet a bit, easing his grasp on the blaster.

Jyn was looking at him through her eyelashes. He suspected it was cheekiness that curled her lips in that half-smile, judging by the way her eyes glistened. Or perhaps, bearing in mind that fleeting instant when they had locked eyes, there could also be some amazement and bewilderment. The way in which her face had contorted, green eyes growing wide with surprise as if a hoard of wild banthas (and not him) had suddenly materialized in the kitchen—

He guessed her surprised jolt had nothing to do with the fact he'd pointed the A180 to her face, or the fact he was only wearing his underwear when he did it.

"Good morning to you too," she answered, lips curling into a wider smile.

Cassian felt the smile tugging at his lips. It quivered when he narrowed his eyes, suddenly taking notice of a blindingly obvious little detail concerning her. He was aware of Jyn's gaze, the dimples that had suddenly appeared on her cheeks, her teeth scraping her lower lip. She was on the verge of bursting into laughter.

"Is that my shirt?"

Jyn let out a giggle that she barely managed to stifle pressing the back of her hand to her mouth. She bit her lips before looking up from the pot and locking eyes with him again. There was a certain sagacity arching her eyebrows.

"Didn't you know?" she answered with another question, "it's the ultimate fashion statement in the Rebellion," she commented,  relaxing her lips and trying to sound serious, but the shrill of her voice betrayed her towards the end of that statement.

It was Cassian's turn to rise an eyebrow.

 "Wearing shirts that are at least... two sizes too big?" he asked, the amused disbelief in his voice reverberated with the laughter ghost he could hardly suppress.

"I am going to tell Shara you mocked her sense of fashion, just so you know," Jyn fought back, pointing an accusing spatula bright with oil in his direction.

The laughter came pricking at his throat once again. The shirt was ridiculously oversized on her. The stitching lines of the shoulders were practically on her elbows, the border brushing the middle of her thighs every time she moved slightly. The lapels of the collar were open and turned over, revealing skin and the threadbare cord of her kyber necklace. He sucked in a breath before throwing his arms around her, no longer having to guess her through the cotton cloth. Maybe out of inertia, or maybe out of habit and memory, he hugged by the curve of her waist.

Jyn let out a sound that resembled a muffled screech, a stifled yelp that seemed a mixture of a surprised exclamation and a joyful laugh. He tightened his grasp, pulling her closer, snuggling her even closer to his chest. He felt her melting in the embrace, follow the pull of the tow,  leaning on him with no preamble other than a satisfied murmur. He smiled against her hair.

"I only have one question," he whispered as, Jyn caressed his wrist, "is taking someone else's shirt always a requirement or was this merely a _coincidence_?"

His chuckle was a rustle; he felt her trembling in his chest. He thought he heard her murmur that's the idea, but he wasn't completely sure since her voice was still vibrating with the embers of that stifled laughter. Far from really expecting an answer, he inhaled, breathing her, the moment, and joy in as well. That joy that electrified the air and seemed to get under his skin, tickling, swell his chest and make him smile like he hadn't done in a long time.

He still couldn't believe the Pathfinders had agreed to do without one of their best Sergeants for a while. Three standard weeks, to be exact. It hadn't been Cassian's idea for her to be his partner on the mission to Ithor. It had been Leia Organa herself who had suggested Sargeant Erso to accompany Major Andor.

(Draven had not objected the decision, or maybe he had no counterargument strong enough when Leia brought up the great teamwork and successful infiltration they had both conducted on Scarif.)

At any moment his cheeks would start hurting, but he couldn't fight it. He snuggled against her, getting rid of any remaining space between them. He rested his chin on the top of her head, and when Jyn's fingers came strolling lazily on his wrist once more, a hum of satisfaction rattled his throat.

The air was filled with the heavy and yet soft smell of hot blue milk, the sour edge barely perceptible. There was a tingling feeling, like that of sweetness, on his tongue that little had to do with breakfast. He figured it was relishing and tasting the warmness of that touch, affectionate and yielded, of Jyn's body resting on his.

Something warm fluttered in his chest when she moved out of the blue, with no other aim than leaning on him even more comfortably, as if she was little by little completely melting in that hug. By a coincidence Cassian didn't seek to understand, their bodies slot together. Matching with one another. Their anatomies molding in perfect concordance, as if the spaces and nooks had been made to fit the shape of the other—

As if they belonged with one another.

Together in that momentary simplicity and quietness amidst the mad whirlwind of war. A moment still in time. A scene that trembled with echoes of a simpler past that neither of them had had the luxury to truly know, but also carried the whispers of a future promise yet to become true.

His sigh ruffled her hair.

He withdrew a little, enough to put a few inches between them again. The sudden  distance felt cold, but it was enough. Enough to make up for the awkwardness that their height difference brought about. It was enough for him to lean forward, sweep aside her hair and leave the skin uncovered.

He brought his lips to that familiar curve where her shoulder became neck. He kissed that turning point, brushing his lips over it. Jyn seemed to come to life from her stillness, letting out a sigh, her cheek touching his face. And just like that, the warmness of touch made an appearance once again. He went up, slowly and lazily, pressing his lips to her neck at random, different intervals,  alternating lingering and swift kisses on the column of her throat.

"Cassian," her voice sounded faint, almost distant, to his ears. "Cassian," she repeated with more insistence this time, even though the sound faltered... and sounded too close to a gasp, barely masked into a sigh, "You're distracting me-"

Cassian fought down the sudden urge to cheekily reply _that's the idea_. His hand closed around the curve of her waist. He nuzzled her jaw with the tip of his nose. When Jyn protested, he couldn't stifle down the chuckle. Opening his eyes, he rested his chin on her shoulder.

The ooglata eggs scrambled looked ready, even though Jyn kept moving it around with the spatula. The movement got a bit rougher when his fingers tightened its clasp around her waist. He would have laughed, but he settled for kissing her jaw. Swiftly, a mere brush of lips against skin.

"I'd say it's done, don't you think?" he asked, keeping himself from kissing her again.

She nodded, so Cassian leant forward, grabbed the pan handle and moved it aside. A soft light blue foam steamed on the milk surface, as Jyn kept stirring.

"Cassian," she said then, frowning in concentration, or at least that was what he guessed out of the corner of his eye, "this is almost done."

"I guess I can't say that I am comfortable here, can I?" he asked, stroking the vertex of her jaw again with his nose, smiling then against her cheek.

He felt her tense slightly.

" _Cassian_ ," she warned, practically hissing.

He pulled back, managing to smother the whine of protest that bubbled in his throat.

He set the plates next to the spoon shining white with milk. When Jyn leant forward to grab one and pour the oats and milk in, he wrapped an arm around her waist in the blink of an eye. Jyn huffed, let out a sound that rang like a frustrated sigh... which somehow ended up melting in a pleased whisper.

He kissed her, hard, on the pulsing spot right below the angle of her chin. He kissed her there were her quickening pulse betrayed the appearances and exposed her heart. In that kiss, he gave free rein to his mischievousness: he stroked the drumming pulse with an almost imperceptible but swift brush of his tongue.

Which only caused Jyn to grab him by the chin, putting distance in between them, forcing him to lift his mouth off her neck and look up.

The breakfast was going to get cold, and with it, all her effort would be wasted. He flashed her an apologizing half-smile, looking down. He felt confusion narrowing his eyes when upon gazing at her he saw her biting her lower lip—

It was her who threw her arms around his neck. He circled her waist with his arms. He lifted her up in the air, pressing her against him, in the very same moment she stood on her toes. The kiss was deep, slow, long, until their lungs complained and screamed for air. They tried to even their labored, ragged breaths, but it seemed the only thing they could manage to do was panting.

Looking at her through his eyelashes, still trying to catch his breath, his heart seemed to swell in his chest when he saw her smiling at him.

 

"You ruined the surprise," Jyn said in a casual tone, almost neutral, as if she were talking about some mundane thing like the weather. Still, she pointed at him with her spoon.

It took all her willpower she managed to muster in those seconds not to burst out laughing when Cassian frowned at her, mouth agape, spoon hovering mid-way between the plate and his mouth.

"You know, breakfast in bed and all that stuff," she said, letting out a sigh.

Jyn frowned, narrowing her eyes. She took a spoonful of porridge, scratched the bridge of her nose before looking up from her plate. She shook her head before adding a sorrowful, "I almost couldn't get out of bed without waking you..." this time she trailed off, leaving the phrase unfinished. She puckered her lips in a side frown before bringing the duraplast mug to her lips. She sipped her caf.

"Jyn... you didn't have to," Cassian's grave voice broke the silence unexpectedly, "what happened in Panthora was... I mean," he looked down, averting her gaze. His fingers suddenly scraping and ruffling the lock at his nape, still looking down, and the gesture of sudden awkwardness was even cute to Jyn's eyes, which invariably made her feel guilty, "you didn't have to do this."

Jyn couldn't help smiling at him. She wasn't going to deny she indeed felt a little bit disappointed about having been discovered, especially when finally she'd decided to put that plan of hers into motion after having dwelled on it repeatedly, for days and getting cold-feet about it. She wasn't going to deny she felt a bit dejected about the ruined surprise, regardless of how ridiculous and superfluous the mere idea sounded when compared to the grand scheme of things.

(Jyn had been at mercy of the grand scheme of things most of her life. She felt she'd earned the right to have an ephemeral and harmless lapse of selfishness from time to time.)

Ever since Panthora —perhaps even earlier, probably much earlier than that kiss on that cargo hold— Jyn had wanted to do something special. Something different. A mundane routine, bordering on unfamiliarity for them both... but images that kept coming to Jyn's mind every time she thought about the future. Those images had become more recurrent in the last couple of months, for obvious reasons—

Each time she woke up to his breathing tickling her face, him dazzled gawking at her with a smile dangling on his lips, the weight on her chest seemed to get light all of a sudden. Each time she woke up and saw him, felt him, tracing the lines and curves of her body, barely touching her with a graze of fingertips... as if he was learning her by heart amidst the silence. Those times in which shy all of a sudden, he would tear his gaze from her and tried to hide the smile pressing his lips together—

Those were the moments that sometimes felt so _... surreal_ , impossible. The moments in which Jyn found herself reaching out, hand stretched to touch him, as if she needed to make sure that it was real and not a figment of her imagination. As if she had to make sure that it wasn't a dream she hadn't woken up from yet.

(Jyn thought she knew the answers, at least those to the question that had nagged at her mind at the start of everything, when his breath had curled into her lungs for the first time.)

She looked at him, letting her lips curl into a warm, heartfelt smile. Her hand slid over the wood, Jyn reached for his hand, brushing her fingertips over his knuckles.

"I wanted to," she confessed, eyes never leaving his, feeling the smile growing wider and a giggle bubbling in her chest, "I wanted to surprise you, like you did that time on Panthora," she paused, sliding her fingers in between his and clasping his hand into hers, "even if the circumstances are different."

She didn't mention she also wanted to do it because it was something intimate. She didn't mention how much that breakfast had meant for her back at Panthora, the memories of simpler times it had brought back. She had never mentioned the sense of peace that had washed over her, nor the tender affection that had drummed warm in her chest as he tried to convince her to taste the gumbo—

But there was also something else, something beyond the action itself. The gesture had made her _feel loved_. She had found herself so cherished—

Something that destiny, the galaxy and the Force had deprived her of for a long time.

(And something told her that it hadn't been that different for him either.)

"I like this circumstance  best," he whispered, his thumb now brushing along the side of her finger, and even though the touch was ethereal she could feel the goosebumps, "I don't know if you do-"

Jyn bit her lower lip before replying, "I think we have both made that pretty clear these past... how many? ten days?" she couldn't keep the cheekiness out of her voice, and her tone turned teasing at the same time she raised her eyebrows.

He dissolved into laughter. And Jyn soon followed.

* * *

 

"What's on your mind?"

His voice brought her back to reality. Or perhaps his hand strolling absent-mindedly along her shoulder did. She twirled the cord of the necklace around her finger and stared at it, not fully knowing how to answer exactly—

What they were doing was risky. They were two rebels; they couldn't just be out there in the clearing under the moon, under the sky littered with shining bright stars. The deep darkness and the complete absence of artificial light made all the tiny dots above their heads shine with sheer brightness in, jaw-dropping clarity. It was like staring right at clouds made of galaxies. The colorful spectacle in the sky contrasted with the somberness below.

She could barely see her under the pale faint light of the moon, but she guessed his smile.

"Do you think they would have wanted," she made a pause, licking her lips, fingers toying with the necklace, as she tried to gather her thoughts to say properly what had been nagging at her, "this for us?"

The warmness of his hand meandered down her arm, tracing circles right above her wrist.

"I don't know," he said, his voice was barely a whisper. "I have my doubts someone would truly want this reality for their children," his expression became anything but gentle. She noted the tension knotting on his shoulders, "I wouldn't want my children to go through all this. No child should ever have to deal with this. Ever."

 _This_. The war. Its consequences. Its wounds and scars that never stopped burning nor bleeding, not truly, no matter the distance or time. She snuggled closer against his chest, brushing his ankle with her toes.

She bit her lips. Her palm skidded on his chest until she got to cradle the beating of his heart. It wasn't long before he covered her hand with his, stroking her fingers in such an delicate touch that more than skin against skin it felt like the gentle sweep of the breeze.

She thought of herself, on the pain that burdened her shoulders. She thought of the past marked in the scars littered all over her body. She also thought of the other scars, the invisible to the eye. Those wounds that burn, beat and bleed with the echoes of a phantom pain nestled under her skin. She pressed her lips together and curled even closer against him when a sudden shiver ran up her spine —a shiver that Ithor had little to do with.

The foliage was silent.

She harbored a leg in between his, her cold foot seeking shelter in the space between his. Her toes brushed against his ankle again, he tightened his grasp on her arm. She leant on him, on that improvised half-body hug. She heard the rustle of his sigh.

She thought of her parents, who had done so much to keep her safe, escaping from the Empire first, sacrificing their lives later. She thought of Saw, who had done so much to keep her safe, teaching her how to protect herself, staying behind so they could reach the ship in time—

And she thought of Cassian—

"She would be proud."

She craned her neck and looked up to meet his gaze. The ghost of a smile seemed to form on Cassian's face, but it was a faint, sad smile.  She ended up propping herself up, arm against the grass for support. She bit her lip.

She was certain Losna Andor wouldn't have felt anything but pride for his son. Perhaps also sadness, a deep heartache upon knowing all he had to sacrifice throughout the years... Jyn thought that any mother, deep down, would feel a great woe eating at them in spite of everything. Jyn had felt that sorrow in the warmth of her mother's arms, when she hugged her tightly against her chest for the last time. Jyn remembered the prism pressing on her chest, hard above her heartbeat, the kyber and her words that were the last gifts her mother had ever given her—

"I know your mother would be proud," she repeated, tracing his jaw with her thumb, on the verge of giving in and cradling his face.

A shiver of a different nature entirely ran up her back when his hand, lazy, left her arm and meandered downwards. She caught it and took it in hers before he reached the curve of her waist. He raised an eyebrow, half amused and half surprised. He tried the same with his free hand, the one that had been warm on her chin, only for her to beat him again.

She squeezed his hands in hers. Her fingers kneaded the side of his hands. Jyn couldn't keep her lips from tensing, widening her smile even more. She swayed their hands in that space between them, a teasing swing hanging in the air.

Cassian stared at her, gaze fixed on her eyes. He was looking at her tenderly, though there was something else flickering, brewing behind that when he pressed his lips together, lowering his gaze to their clasped hands for a fleeting second. Perhaps it was the dim light, but Jyn could have sworn that a mischievous smile played on his lips when their eyes met again.

She didn't think much about it either. With a quick, swift movement, she crowned his lap, pinning him down and pressing his hands at each side of his face. His surprise was fleeting. The spasm of amazement and the sudden tension unraveled almost instantly, his rounded eyes lasted but a second and his expression soon changed. His gaze and smile full of those signals of shamelessness that Jyn had grown to learn over time.

The feeling of the kyber weighing down on her neck vanished. His breath filled her lungs. If she moved, even less than an inch, their noses would bump together. She kept still, her inaction hovering somewhere in between expectant and provocative. She relished on the increasing electrifying heaviness of their mingled breaths, swirling down inside her chest.

She alternated between gazing at his eyes and stealing glances at his lips. With the exception of the increasing speed of his chest rising and falling, Cassian was completely still, eyes fixed on her. The nocturnal sounds seemed to have vanished, and the only thing Jyn ears seemed to take in was the whisper of his labored breathing, turning more and more ragged with every exhale.

She felt the pressure of his fingers squeezing her hands in his, felt the gentle brush of his body against hers when he shifted underneath her. But he didn't seem to want to break free from her grasp, quite the contrary—

As if he were seeking her out.

"Jyn," his voice barely audible.

"Yeah?" she asked, a breath away from his mouth.

She felt him moving again, but instead of trying to lean forward and steal a kiss from her, he tilted his head, as if he wanted to gaze at her from another angle. As if he were watching her.

(Of course that Jyn had no way of knowing that, indeed, even if the need to kiss her burned his insides, he'd tilted his head to look at her better. Because there was something different there, yet familiar at the same time, when he looked at her silhouetted against the star-bright sky. Jyn had no way of knowing that he wanted to burn that image in his memory, so he would never forget it. Remember that image, that instant, that peace amidst the whirlwind of their lives. _Remember her_. He wanted to remember that moment when hope, hope for the future yet to come, drummed in his chest. A happiness that tasted sweet, that was right there within reach at the tips of his fingers —a happiness he could see, touch feel. A happiness that hadn't slipped between his fingers.)

Eventually, Jyn's temptation got the best of her and she gave in to the need fluttering in her chest. She brushed his lips with hers, softly, more of a caress than a kiss. Slowly, as if she was taking the time to learn his lips, as if she was tasting his breath curling into her mouth.

She couldn't swallow down the hum that crept its way up her throat when the warmth of his hand cradled the back of her neck, his fingers tangling in her hair. She traced the curve of his jaw with his thumb, the cold air seeped between the space between them and down their chests. The steamy warmth of his breath collided with her lips, the tip of his nose bumped her cheek. A smile broke free on her face amidst her pant, while she tried to even her breathing. That close, not really seeing him, but feeling him, the excitement of the kiss pooling low within her.

The smile spread over her face and she had to bit her lip to avoid laughing when Cassian's hand travelled southward, fingers circling around her waist. Due to her laughter, or maybe the thrilling excitement bubbling in her veins, she ended up bumping his cheek with her nose. There was a rustle, perhaps his chuckle. But a second later he had tightened his grasp and tilted his head, looking for her lips.

She breathed him in, the rustle of his breathing swelling her lungs. The kiss was slow. She took her time to trace his mouth with her lips, like wanting to re-learn their shape, their texture. Again, a caress more than a kiss, a stroking and squeezing of his lips with hers, slowly, slowly. It was a shuddering when the warmness of his sighs, his pants licked her lips and face, making her skin tickle and her stomach flutter.

Perhaps it was his hand on her neck what turned her bolder. Or perhaps her own mischievousness. She pulled back, enough for the tip of their noses to brush together and for their uneven breathings to mingle in that heavy air, electrified with that vibrant excitement. He searched her gaze, and she couldn't fight down the smile and leant forward again, capturing his lips again.

Jyn smiled against his mouth. He welcomed her, zealous. The kiss was more playful, ambling along his lips, exploratory, barely touching the soft and damp part of his mouth. His hands stroked her hair, roamed over her waist and back, his fingers growing bolder, more curious. The brush of his skin against hers had stopped merely tickling under his touch long ago. He tried to deepen the kiss, but she pulled back with a teasing giggle bubbling in her throat. In retaliation, he captured her lower lip between his teeth, tugging slightly.

Judging by the sound that escaped his mouth not a second later, he should have thought through that move. Jyn kept on teasing his lips with nibbles, both soft and sharp, pleased with herself when she felt his mouth trembling against hers. She smiled; his breath filled her lungs when she rested her tongue lightly on his lips first, on his teeth afterwards.

His fingers tangled in her hair and she searched for the curve of his neck. The kiss grew deeper, hungrier, more intimate. Each brush of his hands over her skin took her consciousness apart even more. Senses confined to that elating nebulous where the only things she could feel were the heat of his body pressed against hers, his lips moving against hers, the pleasure alive in her mouth.

Suddenly his mouth was no longer on hers. His lips trailed down her throat. Jyn didn't bother to mask the uneven hesitation of her breathing anymore. Without really intending to, she nearly dig her nails into his shoulder. He barely protested, kept showering her with kisses, on the neck, below her earlobe, right on the drumming of her pulse.

Every kiss, every touch of his hands increased the fluttering sensation at the base of her stomach.

The moment when he slid his hands under her shirt she whispered the question against his lips, "don't you think we should get inside?"

He stole her breath again. Getting up took more time than what she'd envisioned, he didn't seem that keen on not kissing her.  She opted for cutting to the chase and gently shoved him to the ground. She couldn't quite categorize his astonishment as cute or hilarious, and she didn't know whether to laugh or feel guilty—

She settled for jumping to her feet, giggling. She heard the rustle of the grass underneath his feet. She let out a shrill louder laugh when he wrapped his arms around her and made her turn. The pull was so abrupt that their bodies bumped, nearly falling to the ground.

His ragged breathing tickled her face. Jyn tugged at his shirt, yanking it towards her, pulling him along to the house as she walked. His gaze never left hers.

The intensity of his brown eyes made her bit her lip.

* * *

 

"What's on your mind?"

Jyn echoed his question from earlier, tenderness curling her lips into a warm smile when he looked up. Cassian halted his thorough outline of the scar above her breast, fingertip stopping at the soft dip of her sternum.

He pressed his lips together to keep them from curving.

"Nothing," he found himself replying, "nothing, really," he assured, his voice louder this time. His hand glided upwards, skidded over her clavicle before cupping her face. His thumb stroked her chin, the rub of his thumb was almost teasing, right below the edge of her lip.

Jyn frowned, her lips twisted in a pucker before she retorted, "you're lying."

She reached out and pushed stray locks of hair away from his forehead. He arched an eyebrow, and Jyn untangled her fingers from his hair to trace a straight line with her index finger between his eyebrows.

"Here," she said, brows knitted into a frown as her fingertip pressed down slightly, "here," her thumb brushed the corner of his mouth. She bit her lip to hide her breathy giggle before poking him right next to the corner of his eye, "and here. I can see right through you, you know."

He intently focused his eyes on hers. He didn't see her smiling, but the wrinkles at her corner of her eyelids and the soft narrowing of her eyes gave her away. His thumb pressed down gently on the slope of her chin, coaxing her mouth open.

The kiss was soft, almost chaste, lips grazing over lips more than anything else. A groan built up in Cassian's throat when Jyn shamelessly played with him like that. Her tongue teased his lips, sneaked past the line of his teeth and touched the soft warm lining of his mouth. She even nibbled his lip before whispering, "don't try to dodge the question, captain."

Cassian wasn't dodging the question, not exactly at least. In his defense, the warmth of her body resting, pressed against his was distracting enough on its own, but he figured that argument wasn't going to convince Jyn.

Besides, what exactly was he going to tell her? That he couldn't help but gaze at her, taking her in as warmth spread over his chest? That he felt beyond privileged of getting to witness her like this, shells and all defenses down? That he felt humbled he could see this side of her who few had the fortune of witnessing? That he couldn't help to admire her resilience and her strength after so many battles this life and this galaxy had put her through?

How was he going to phrase all that coherently and eloquently? How was he going to convey all the things that she made him feel? How could he even begin to tell her how grateful he was for knowing her, not because of this, but because of everything they had been through together, of everything they were of everything they could be… of everything he wanted them to be?

"It's just—"

"Yes?"

He'd said it a few times before, but when they rolled out of his mouth again in a whisper, it felt like the air had been squeezed from his lungs.

"Te amo," her expression softened as soon as she heard the two words, she was looking at him earnestly.

He felt his pulse in his throat. She brushed the locks away from the sides of his face when she cradled his face in her hands. The yellow halo-light was dim, but the emotion glimmering in her green eyes made him want to lean forward and kiss her, but he swiped away the locks framing her cheek instead.

The silence that had suddenly settled between them was dense, heavy, and somewhat light, electrifying, expectant at the same time. And when Cassian gazed at her, when she looked at him like that, when he felt her palms pressing lightly against his cheeks, when he felt that welcoming warmness of her on his skin… when he seemed to be feeling, staring right into a glimpse of that future—

"When all this is over—"

"Yes," Jyn interrupted him before he could even finish the sentence.

"You don't know what I was going to as—"

She brought a finger to his lips; she licked hers before replying, "yes, I do. I _know_ ," she fought back, assuring, convinced, "and my answer is _yes_."

 

 

The gentle sway of his breathing was somnific. Jyn buried her face on curve of her elbow to hide her smile, which was ridiculous since he was fast asleep and obviously couldn't see her. She caressed his cheek with her thumb, intently feeling the hard angle of the bone beneath, and bit down a smile when he shifted under her touch and snuggled closer to her.

He looked peaceful. More peaceful than she'd ever seen him while awake. The perpetual tension etched to his features had melted away. And in that moment, amidst his slumber, Jyn could get a glimpse at reality —he looked as young as he actually was. He looked twenty-six, instead of years older.

Something knotted in her chest at that thought. Her fingers traced the scarred skin, gleaming and velvet-soft, absent-mindedly switching from one scar to the other, like he'd done earlier with her. Her fingers stopped when skidding over the last rib. The image flashed again through her mind and she curled her fingers into her palm without even realizing it.

The durasteel girder had left a huge scar, a slope of ragged edges and paler skin. Then the medics had littered vertical lines of scarred tissue, swept by other perpendicular ones at regular intervals, on his back.

He kept insisting none of them hurt. And Jyn knew he was lying. She'd ripped her thigh muscle, and even though it had healed it still hurt. They were on a humid planet; Jyn knew the pain was sinking into his bones, even when he insisted he was fine—

(She also had the habit of arguing her leg didn't hurt at all, a fact that Cassian always kept reminding her of every time she insisted he be honest— which still wasn't the point, as she always loved to remind him.)

Jyn remembered the weeks upon weeks of recovery at that medical frigate in space after Scarif. The therapy sessions, both physical and psychological, had, at times, seemed endless. Those times hadn't been easy, and yet Jyn couldn't help but remember them fondly… it had brought them even closer than Scarif.

Then in came her doubts about staying. In came Kanan Jarrus, and after that talk something clicked and everything seemed to fall into place. The Alliance felt unfamiliar and yet well-known at the same time, and Jyn couldn't help but think about Saw—

It should have come as no surprise that she chose the Pathfinders, just like Bodhi became a pilot.  She could put her skills and everything Saw'd taught her to good use in that unit., It was something she was proud of.

And what had been brewing since Jedha kept following its course. The longing gazes, stealing glances, the shy gestures and movements hadn’t stopped. And their gravitating towards each other hadn't either —until they invariably crashed.

When she'd pressed her lips to his in that cargo hold, she knew that —for better or for worse— there was no turning back. Luckily for her —for them— the turning point brought anything but rejection.

Cassian became a constant.

A promise for the now, a promise for the future.

Hope.

A home that would always be there to welcome her with open arms and a warm, tiny and shy smile.

If they both outlived this war, there was nobody else Jyn would rather spend her life with.

* * *

 

"Jyn," he called her while rummaging through the contents of his backpack, searching for his jacket.  He was sure he'd stuffed it in there.  "Jyn." He heard her steps ringing closer, and he turned to the cockpit door, "have you seen my—"

Jyn smiled and arched her eyebrows, clearly very pleased with herself.

Cassian now knew where the jacket was. Or rather, who had it on. He didn't remember his wardrobe being communal.

"I guess it's useless to ask for it back," his gaze softened when she got closer, "at least right now."

She nodded, clamping her lips together.

"You're taking this trend very seriously, don't you think?"

He felt her fingers toying with the locks at his nape.

"This is not about fashion," she giggled, almost around a whisper.

He couldn't help arching an eyebrow.

"Then—"

He left the question unfinished. She kissed him as an answer. Cassian had learnt to know fully well the smile that spread over her face.

"Don't you know it already, Captain?" cheekiness glimmering in her gaze, "I'm a thief, after all."

He didn't know whether to burst out laughing or not.

Glimpses of their first encounter came to mind. Things had changed so much since then—

Her times as a thief was long gone, it'd been awhile since she'd been a mere criminal in the eyes of the Galactic Empire. She was still a criminal even now, that appreciation of her character hadn't changed as far as the Empire was concerned, but she was another type of criminal. Jyn Erso was a rebel of the Alliance.

Without fully knowing what to say next, he went for kissing her. Jyn didn't have any objection, rather showed interest in his change of plans, indulging him eagerly. She clutched the lapel of his shirt between her fingers, and pulled down. Cassian chuckled a breath away from her mouth, and before Jyn captured his lips again he lifted her up in his arms, pulling her closer.

 

Jyn flashed him a smile from behind the X-Wing, stopping paying attention to whatever Skywalker was telling her so enthusiastically. She turned towards her interlocutor a second later, nodding, a different smile curling her lips then. It was kind, yet more impersonal, distant. From time to time, she would steal glances in his direction. Brief seconds in which her green eyes seemed to glisten when locking his, brief seconds in which her lips would curl with a different, deeper emotion. Brief, swift gazes that softened her whole expression, brief, swift gazes that sometimes even came across as shy.

He'd rather his hands hadn't been gloved when they ran into each other in that frozen hallway. He missed the warmth of her fingers intertwining with his in those stolen moments amidst their duties for the Alliance.

"See you later," she whispered as she walked away.

And Cassian yearned for the moment that debriefing came to an end.       

 

Perhaps his previous analysis was wrong.

He reached that conclusion while tucking rebellious locks of hair behind her ear. Jyn mumbled something incomprehensible, shifted in her sleep and ended up snuggling even closer against his chest. Her even breathing tickled.

He grabbed the blankets and slid them up carefully to her shoulders, tucking her in better. Her body seemed to relax, free from any remaining tension from the cold, though she didn't uncurl her body, nor moved from his side, not even a little.

His previous analysis was wrong. An unexpected and small smile spread over his face.

After all, Jyn had stolen his loneliness. Jyn had stolen his inner hopelessness; she had given him the chance to hope for himself and not just for the galaxy, l ike he had done for so many years. Jyn had stolen his uncertainty in the face of a dubious future—

If there was a future awaiting him when this war ended, Cassian couldn't think of anyone he'd want to spend that long-desired peace with than Jyn. 

**Author's Note:**

> Look, I just wanted them to have some time for themselves amidst the whirlwind of war. They deserve the chance to spend time together, okay? I also wanted an excuse to have them hugging, snuggling and laughing and just being cute together ♥ because we all know how much these two need that balm after all they've been through. (I have officially added the bed sharing tag!) 
> 
> (I know that some of the content of this story can hardly be qualified as smut, but I chose the rating and the tags as a warning, if you will, just in case. Better safe than sorry, right? I am merely clearing this up in case anyone was expecting way more explicit content and was disillusioned n.núu) 
> 
> A huge thanks to forestpenguin who proof-read this story before I published it, I have noted lately I tend to complicate structures because I'm just complicated like that ;p 
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading, I hope you've enjoyed the story! Feedback is always appreciated :)


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